Swinging door operating means



Aug. 31, 1937. F, G. DORSEY SWI iVGING DOOR OPERATING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28, 1933 I F I I L a I I I I IS.

Aug. 31,1937. F, G, DOR EY- 2,091,388

SWINGING DOOR OPERATING MEANS Filed Aug. 28, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FTQDorsev S'WWM 2 9 M acme Aug. 31, 1937. F. G. DORSEY 2,091,388.

1 SWINGING DOOR OPERATING MEANS Filed Aug. 2a, 1935 is Sheets-Sheet s 56 FG.Dorse 3mm F WM i712. U ZZL BM Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SWINGING noon OPERATING MEANS Fisher G. Dorsey, Houston, Tex.

Application August 28, 1933, Serial No. 687,112

3 Claims.

My invention relates to means for mechanically opening swinging doors such as are used largely by the public as in the case of car doors or store and oflice building doors.

.It is an object of the invention to provide a means for opening the door, operated from the knob or latch ordinarily provided on doors of this character. I contemplate the connection with the knob or handle for the door of means to mechanicallyswing the door to open position when the handle or knob is operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple and effective means for operating the valve which controls the application of pressurefluid to'the door-operating means and to so formsuc h mechanism that it will not be affected bythe swinging of the door to any normal open position. a

It is a further object to combine with the door control device a latching mechanism which tends tolatch the door in closed position.

The invention consists in the particular structure of the apparatus controlled from the handle of the door soas to assist the operator in swinging the door when the latch is released. The particular construction of this mechanism may be varied in different ways coming within the scope of the invention, as will be seen from the specification and drawings herewith.

I In the drawings Fig. 1 is a broken front elevation of a door showing the application thereto of one form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a broken detail of the valve operating means shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view shown in section on the line 3-.3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4isa vertical section through the latching mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a broken front elevation of a connection with the knob or latch, different from that shown in Fig, 1.

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the connection of the knob or handle with the valve operating device shown in Fig. 5, the view being in vertical section through the operating mechanism.

Fig. *7 is a horizontal sectional view through the latching mechanism shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a broken View illustrating a different embodiment of the valve operating means.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section on the plane 9--9 of Fig.. 8.

Fig. 10-is a, side elevation of the rod supporting eyelet taken approximately on the line l0-I0.of Fig. 8.

55.. Fig, 11 is a broken front elevation similar to I its upper side where it is flattened off at IT.

Fig. 1 but illustrating a different connection between the operating rod and the control valve.

Fig. 1-2 is a still different embodiment of a rod actuating means for the control of the valve.

In the embodiment disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4, in- 5 clusive, I have shown a door I mounted in the frame 2, and pivoted to swing upon hinges 3. The door is provided with a knob or handle 4, which acts to control the latch 5 through the yoke 6. The knob or handle is connected with a 10 squared shaft rotatable in the housing 8 and having connected therewith a plate 9, the ends ofwhich project laterally therefrom and engage with shoulders indicated at it on the yoke. It will be seen that when the shaft 1 is rotated in 15 either direction, one of the ends of the plate 9 will engage against one of the shoulders I9 and move the yoke to the left of its position shown in Fig. 4, thus releasing the latch 5.

Secured to the yoke 6 at the inner end of the O latch member is a plate H which has secured thereto a rod I2, said rod projecting through the side of the housing 8 away from the latch and transversely across the door. It is supported on the door by eyelets 63.

At a point in longitudinal alignment with the hinges 3 of the door is mounted a cam disc 13. Said disc is mounted upon an outwardly project: ing arm 14 upon a pin l 5 extending in an upright position parallel with the line of the hinges, it being supported upon the door by a plate 16. The disc I3 is approximately circular except on The rod 12 is connected to the disc 13 by means of a link It pivotally attached to the disc through a wrist pin l9. Said wrist pin is mounted above the center about which the disc is rotatable and serves to rotate the disc in an obvious manner.

Bearing against the flattened cam surface of the disc i3 is a ball 29 fitted with a socket 2| on the lower end of a rod 22 which extends directly upward parallel with the inner edge of the door and having at its upper end a laterally inclined arm 23 which bears against the head 24 upon a valve stem 25. 5

The door operating mechanism which has been shown is not a specific part of the invention. I have shown a cylinder 26 housing a piston secured to a piston rod 21 projecting from the cylinder and slidable in brackets 28 on the upper frame of the door. To this rod is secured, by means of a clamp 29, a link 30 which is connected at the other end to a rod 3i fixed upon the upper end of the door. The air or steam which forces the piston longitudinally of the cylinder to move the door to open position is directed into said cylinder through a pipe 32 which extends into the housing 33. The passage through the housing is controlled by the valve 34 operated by the raising of the stem 25 to allow the passage of steam from the pipe 35 through the housing to the'pipe 32. The valve is held in .its seat by a spring 36 upon the valve stem and between the housing and the head 24 thereon.

It will be obvious that when the knob or handle 4 upon the door is rotated in the usual manner to release the latch 5 of the door, the rod [2 will be moved to the left in the position shown in Fig. 1 so as to rotate the cam disc l3 and elevate the rod 22. This will move the control valve 34 from its seat and allow the passage of steam or air to the cylinder 26 so as to move the piston and mechanically open the door.

In this manner heavy doors which can not be easily manipulated by the ordinary user of the door will be moved to open position with very little effort whatever on the part of the operator. It will be seen that the operating disc i3 is mounted to swing with the door and is spaced outwardly from the door so that when the door is swung to open position the upper surface of the disc I3 will remain in contact with the lower end of the rod 22 in any position of the door. This is because of the fact that the lower contacting member 2ll upon the rod is positioned in a line parallel with that of the door hinge as will be clearly apparent from the drawings.

In Figs. 5, 6, and l is shown a different embodiment of the connection between the operating rod l2 and the knob i. In this case there is mounted upon the shaft 1 of the door knob a ratchet wheel 31. On each side of said wheel transversely of the door are opposed racks 38, which are slidable transversely of the door in brackets 39. The ends of the racks 38 project through the side wall of the housing and have on their extending ends thereof the knobs 40. The extending ends project through a plate 4! mounted on the end of the shaft l2. In this construction it will be seen that when the knob l is rotated in either direction it will exert an inward pull upon one of the racks and an outwardly thrust upon the other. The inward pull will engage the head 4!] of the rack with the plate 4! and move it to the right of the position shown in Fig. 5. The rack member which moves in the opposite direction will have no effect whatever upon the plate 4| to move the same.

The rod I2 is connected to the similar rod i2" by means of a lever 42 pivoted upon the door at 43. This connection between the rods l2 and I2" enables a lateral pull upon the rod E2 to be converted into a thrust in the opposite direction upon the rod l2". This means of operating the mechanism for controlling the valve is to be used with any particular operating mechanism between the same and the valve.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown a different embodiment of the means for operating the valve control rod 22. In these views I have shown the transverse rod [2 upon the door as connected to a toggle composed of an upper link M and a lower link 45, both of which are connected at 46 to the rod l2. The lower link 45 is supported upon a pin 4'! supported in a bracket 48 in a po sition parallel with the hinges of the door. The lower end of the link 45 is therefore held against longitudinal movement and the upper end of the link 44- is connected pivotally to the rod 22 which extends upwardly parallel with the hinge of the door for contact with the valve stem 25 of the control valve. In this particular construction, when the rod l2 upon the door is moved to the left in Fig. 8 it will exert an upward thrust upon the control rod 22, so as to open the valve 34 in the manner previously noted. As will be seen from Fig. 10, the eyelet 49 which supports the rod iii in this embodiment is elongated vertically so as to allow an upward movement of the rod l2 when the toggle is moved to straightened position.

Both of the embodiments disclosed are operated by a thrust upon the rod [2. In Fig. 11 I have shown the control valve as operated through a flexible cable 53. This is accomplished by connecting a rod I2 through the lever 42 to the cable 58. At a point closely adjacent the inner edge of the door is mounted upon a pin 5|, a pulley 52 around which the cable is passed. The periphery of the pulley has its outer side in alignment with the hinge of the door and allows the cable to pass directly upwardly parallel with the door hinge 3 to an eyelet 53 mounted upon a bracket 5 secured to the frame of the door. The cable then is directed laterally for connection to an eyelet 55 at the lower end of the valve stem 25 having thereon a valve 34'. This valve is held upwardly into its seat by means of the spring 36'.

The operation of this modification is believed to be clear. The rod I2 may be connected to the control knob by means such as is disclosed in Fig. 4 and when the said knob is operated a pull will be exerted upon the cable 50 which will open the valve and allow the passage of thepressure fluid to the cylinder 26. The position of the cable adjacent the hinged side of the door is such that it will not be aifected by the swinging of the door in its movement to open position.

In Fig. 12 I have shown how the valve rod can be actuated from an operating rod 56, such as is sometimes employed on large doors. In this case the U-shaped rod 56 is pivoted at each end within an eyelet or bracket 51 in the outer side of the door. At the end of the rod 56, adjacent the hinge of the door, is a threaded bolt or shaft 58 which is rotated by the swinging of the operating rod 56 about its pivot in the bracket 51. Mounted upon the shaft 58 is a hollow nut 59 engaged with the threaded surface of the shaft and movable longitudinally through the rotation of said shaft. Upon the inner side of said nut is a laterally extending pin 60, which engages within the slot Si in the door to prevent rotation of the nut and yet allow a longitudinal sliding movement of the nut along the door. The outer end of the nut 59 is rounded to engage with the lower end of the rod 62 through which the valve may be moved. In this device it willbe obvious that when the operating rod 55 is swung downwardly the nut 59 will bemoved laterally against the lower end of the rod 62 to exert a thrust thereon and thus enable the operator to control the movementof the valve.

In all of the difierent embodiments of the invention it will be apparent that the movement of the knob or handle upon the door so as to release the latch in the usual manner will also control the'rnechanism which opens the door. This makes it particularly adaptable for use in public places where the doors are heavy and hard to operate quickly. The operator by simply engaging'the knob and rotating it to release the latch will automatically swing the door to open position through the simultaneous operation of the Valve control mechanism. Each arrangement for controlling the valve is so aligned parallel with the hinge side of the door that it will operate with equal efiectiveness in any position of the door. The device is simple to operate and may be adapted for use upon any ordinary type of swinging door.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A door frame, a door hinged to swing there- 10 in, a pair of toggle links pivoted on an axis aligned with the hinged edge of said door, a vertically extending push rod on said frame connecting with one of said links, a door knob, a bolt connected therewith, and a rod transversely of said 15 door connecting said knob and said links, whereby the rotation of said knob will withdraw said bolt and move said push rod.

2. A door frame, a door hinged to swing therein, a knob on said door, a shaft operatively connected with said knob, a pinion on said shaft, a pair of parallel racks engaging said pinion, a yoke having openings to slidably receive the ends of said racks, enlarged ends on said racks to engage said yoke when said shaft is rotated in either direction, a rod on said yoke and a control mechanism actuated through a pull exerted on said rod by one of said racks.

3. A door frame, a door hinged to swing upo a pivot at one side thereof, a door knob, a longitudinally slidable rod extending from said knob transversely of said door, means actuated by the rotation of said knob to move said rod, a push rod on said frame adjacent to and in approximate longitudinal alignment with said pivot, and means including a pair of toggle levers on said door actuated by the movement of said transverse rod to exert a push on said push rod.

FISHER G. DORSEY. 

